Quanex Building Products Corporation announced today that severe weather at its Truseal Technologies facility in Barbourville, Ky., caused a section of the plant’s roof to collapse. Seven employees were taken to the hospital and have been released with only minor injuries. The plant will be closed until safe operations can be confirmed.

George Wilson, IG Systems general manager for Quanex, along with engineers, assessed the damage to the facility early Friday. “Employees and local emergency personnel deserve considerable credit for the way they managed the situation,” Wilson said. “Their quick response and quick evacuation of the plant minimized the harm to our employees.”

According to Wilson, about five percent of the roof collapsed. Warehouses containing finished goods were not affected, so the company hopes to resume shipping product as early as next week. Contingency plans for production are in review. Additionally, to ensure uninterrupted communication, customer service phone lines have been transferred to Quanex’s Cambridge, Ohio, facility.

Quanex CEO, David Petratis, also issued a statement: “The safety of Quanex employees across our facilities in the U.S. and abroad is always our number one priority. I am personally grateful to the employees of Barbourville and to first responders for doing everything possible to ensure the best outcome. As a company, we are all taking a moment to step back and be thankful that no one was seriously injured.”

Quanex Building Products will continue to provide updates as the damage is assessed.

ABOUT QUANEX BUILDING PRODUCTS:
Quanex Building Products Corporation is an industry-leading manufacturer of value-added, engineered products and components, serving the energy-efficient building products markets. It is an ROIC-driven company that grows shareholder returns through a combination of organic growth via new products, programs and strategic acquisitions.